Hands Impressed by Time
by Call it Karma
Summary: My grandmother has a peculiar ability. She’s able to walk, a jolty little walk impressed by the constant wear of time, and carry dishes nearly sideways....A Ten Ten-centric fic from an unusual point of view...Once a oneshot, now a potential drabble series
1. Chapter 1

My grandmother has a peculiar ability. She's able to walk, a jolty little walk impressed by the constant wear of time, and carry dishes nearly sideways. Nothing ever falls prey to gravity. Soup never spills out from the bowl, and the tea cups slide so distressingly to the side, but never over the edge. Never is she aware, creeping slowly along, of the danger the dinnerware seems to be in. Anything in her hands seems to abide by her little will that she should help-and that she should not be a bother.

Her feet whisper a kiss across the floor, soft, fleeting, and barely sounding. The burden imposed upon her feet is light, like a little bird. But she moves so slowly and so carefully not unlike the dishes that lean precariously to one side.

Perhaps this is all that's left of her greatness-her silence and awareness of her body and its extensions. There was a time when she carried not dishes but wares forged by Masters; Masters that had perfected the art, and the ugliness, that was killing. There was a time when the skin of her gnarled feet was stretched tightly across, and she could pad lightly across rooftops, soaring into the sky like a magnificent hawk. And from high in that vast sky, she could command hundreds of blades, enough to black out the blue, with a simple flick of her wrists.

When times were dark she stood tall among the greatest ninja of her time, the greatest ninja to come for many, many years. These dark times were plagued with monsters that could live on after death, and were so evil that the Gods themselves found watched in awe. But my grandmother, she stood there and she fought. She fought hard to protect the bonds that she had so desperately created. She came to this village, the village she would die for, without a single soul to stand by her side. And when these monsters came, she fought and fought withe the skills that made her into a legend.

She has been immortalized in textbooks throughout all the nations for her incredible innovation in both technique and tactics. She was immortalized for \being a pioneer in a field that women rarely touched. And now, as I learn of this lethal woman, I find it hard to believe that it is the very same woman that lives under the same roof as myself.

Perhaps someday, though peaceful times will never call on me to the extent they demanded of her, I shall be able to live up to her name and the expectations that are placed upon me her granddaughter. The granddaughter of Ten Ten the Weapons Mistress of Konoha.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 7: The Sandaime

_Many of today's professionals view The Third Hokage as the single greatest leader of his time. The Third was unique in that his reign was not continuous, but was broken into two segments. The Sandaime's early reign was characterized by near perpetual turbulence and strained national relations that had not been seen since the Founding of Konoha (for a review please return to page 5 of Chapter 1: The Founding of Konoha) and the second portion was characterized by his somewhat tragic death. It is important to note that the Third was able to preside over both a period of immense strife period of peace with relative success. None of his contemporaries or predecessors had been tested in such ways, which is why many historians advocate the Third as the most…_

_It is important to note that under the Third Hokage's watchful eye several key figures in the Akatsuki Crisis (which will be covered more thoroughly in Chapter 14: The Great Betrayal and Chapter 15: The Age of Truth and Suffering) were raised. Much more will be said about these legendary figures in this later portion of the book, but individuals that were specifically under the Hokage's care should be mentioned now. Among these are Sasuke the Last Uchiha , Naruto the Fox Child, and Ten Ten the Weapons Master. Because all three were orphaned at a young age, these three were under the Hokage's supervision. Under normal circumstances they would have been left in the care of their clan; however, these three were the only remaining survivors of their clans. With no one to directly care for them, these three were under the Hokage's care…_

_Ten Ten the Weapons mistress was one of the most successful women of her time, but given her unique start, there were many team leaders that did not believe that she had the potential to succeed. With absolutely no remaining clan members, Ten Ten did not inherit any family jutsu. Furthermore, her test results as a genin did not indicate an above average grasp of basic shinobi tactics or affinity for specific techniques. Moreover, her somewhat quiet personality did not allow any teacher to take special notice of her…_

… _once Ten Ten was place on a team, she began to make unprecedented progress in the field of weaponry. She was not primed for any specific techniques, which allowed her to adapt to nearly any weapon. During her Chunin Exam, Ten Ten was able to demonstrate mastery many of the weapons techniques that were, in the past, used almost exclusively by Uchiha and Hyuga ANBU members, due to the difficult mid-air weapon manipulations that required an extended field of vision…_

It's unreal that my grandmother is sitting in the next room, while I'm reading about her in my textbook. I knew she was a legendary figure and all, but this is just too fucking epic to be real. I could use a cigarette.


End file.
